Benefits of internal mobility: making full use of potential

What is internal mobility?

Internal mobility refers to the practice of offering female employees within a company the opportunity to develop their careers through various forms, such as job rotations, career opportunities and career opportunities. This strategy not only helps you and your colleagues reach your full potential and improve your performance, but also strengthens the company by promoting growth and adaptability.

Why is internal mobility so important?

In today's dynamic working world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find and retain new talent. Internal mobility plays a decisive role here, as it enables you and your colleagues to grow and develop within the company. This offers several benefits:

1. Reducing recruitment costs and times: The process of external recruitment is often lengthy and expensive. By promoting internal mobility, companies can significantly reduce these costs, as existing employees can be integrated into new roles more quickly.
2. Increasing employee retention: When you see that there are opportunities for development within the company, you are less likely to leave the company. This reduces turnover and strengthens ties with the company.
3. Adapting to changing market conditions: Since the pandemic, companies have been forced to restructure their businesses and even their markets almost overnight. Internal mobility enables companies to react quickly to such changes by flexibly accessing the talents and abilities of their employees.
4. Increasing agility and innovation: Employees who take up various positions within the company contribute new perspectives and ideas that promote innovation and improve the overall agility of the company.

A look at the results of the annual “Global Talent Trends” report for 2020 shows that an internal mobility program offers even more benefits, as the chart below shows.

Examples of internal mobility

Internal mobility can be implemented in many different forms, depending on the goals and needs of the company as well as the career goals of employees. Here are three specific examples of what internal mobility can look like in practice:

1. Job rotations: Job rotations are an excellent way to give female employees a wider view of the company. For example, by letting a marketing employee join the sales team for a few months, that person gains insights into new areas of work, which not only expands their skills, but also promotes collaboration between departments. This can also help improve understanding of customer needs and generate innovative ideas.
2. Quererstuege: In the course of their careers, female employees discover new interests or develop new skills that they would like to use in another area of the company. For example, an IT specialist could develop a strong interest in product design and be given the opportunity to move to the design department through internal mobility programs. This not only helps the employee to find a more fulfilling role in the company, but also enables the company to benefit from diverse experiences and perspectives.
3. Career Opportunities: Internal mobility doesn't always have to mean moving to another department; it can also offer career opportunities within the same department. For example, a junior manager in the finance department could be given the opportunity to move up to a senior position through targeted support and continuing education. Search ascents strengthen employee self-confidence and demonstrate the company's commitment to the career development of its employees.

Mastering internal mobility: overcoming obstacles

More than 50% of Deloitte survey participants” 2019 Global Human Capital Trends” Are of the opinion that it is easier for employees in their company to find a new job externally than internally. Respondents identified two main obstacles to internal mobility:

• There is no information about available roles for employees
• There is no formal process for identifying and transferring employees

The good news is that setting up an online talent marketplace could be the solution to both of these barriers. The nice thing about a talent marketplace is that it creates transparency and gives you the opportunity to find out about and apply for any internal position at any time. It also standardizes and streamlines the internal recruitment process, making it easier for HR managers to fit it into their schedule.

Ideally, we would like to give you recommendations on possible opportunities. It sounds a lot easier than it is. Modern careers no longer follow a vertical line that ends in management. This makes it very complicated to make recommendations for possible career steps or even suggest a career journey. The options are for everyonen StaffN is different and depends on him/her interests, experience and abilities. This cannot be done manually if we want to address a larger group.

Three use cases of how technology enables internal mobility

In order to match female employees with relevant offers such as jobs, projects, mentorships or learning courses, every internal mobility platform must have a sophisticated skill taxonomy. These platforms focus on solving the complex matching problem by precisely matching the skills of female employees with the requirements of internal departments. Profound knowledge and transparency in both areas are essential for this. Let's take a closer look at the use cases for skill-based internal mobility platforms:

1. Create a Marketplace for Talent to Offer Better Opportunities

Setting up a talent marketplace creates a digital platform on which employees can view and apply for all internal job or project offers based on their experience, skills and interests. A profile-based approach enables employees to enter their skills and experience in advance and thus easily apply for suitable jobs or projects. In addition, they can also recommend interesting jobs to colleagues if they think they are more suitable. Female managers can manage their internal positions and actively target employees with the necessary skills for open positions.

2. Provide more orientation through career advice

An internal mobility platform can offer employees career advice by showing their progress and development within the company. Female employees can choose a career path that interests them and determine their next, final or desired role. Based on this, they gain insights into existing skill gaps and recommendations for suitable opportunities such as jobs, projects and learning paths. The platform makes career planning easier by comparing the skills and experiences of employees with the requirements of current and potential internal offers.

3. Facilitate succession planning to close skill gaps

Succession planning is an essential part of any talent management strategy. An internal mobility platform can support this process by providing insights into the skills and experiences of employees and enabling managers to precisely identify and promote people for key positions. The platform can recommend qualified talents for specific positions and suggest career paths to achieve the target positions. By using a skills-based platform, employers can automatically design career paths and succession plans, identify current and future positions, and identify the most suitable female employees for these roles.

Technology solutions to support internal mobility

Advanced technology solutions that create transparency about the skills of employees are essential for successful internal mobility. This transparency is the basis for every internal mobility program, as it makes it possible to precisely identify the abilities and potential of female employees and to compare them with internal career opportunities. Modern Platforms use data analysis and AI to create and update skill profiles, which not only increases the visibility of existing talent, but also helps to fill suitable internal positions efficiently.

If you're looking for a solution that offers these features, feel free to check out our platform. It is specifically designed to promote internal mobility by providing a comprehensive overview of capabilities within the organization and helping to bring the right talent to the right places.

The Importance of Corporate Culture for Successful Internal Mobility

Even the most advanced internal mobility platform cannot reach its full potential unless it is embedded in a supportive corporate culture. For internal mobility programs to be successful, it is crucial that the corporate culture harmonizes with the goals of internal mobility. A common obstacle is that managers do not recognize internal talent as a valuable resource for the company and are reluctant to transfer their best employees. It is crucial that female employees feel confident when they apply internally and know that their applications will be received positively and not viewed negatively by their current supervisors.

On the other hand, managers must also have confidence that they will receive the necessary support when their team members change internally. This creates an atmosphere in which both employees and managers feel safe using internal mobility services, which ultimately strengthens the entire organization.

Factors for successful internal mobility:

1. transparency: Clearly communicated processes and open discussions about internal mobility opportunities promote an environment of trust and openness.
2. Recognition and Support: Recognition of achievements and active support for employees in their desire for internal change are crucial for a positive mobility culture.
3. Training for managers: Specialized training that helps managers understand how they can promote and support internal change strengthens commitment to internal mobility.
4. Incentive systems: Incentives for managers to promote internal mobility, such as by recognizing their efforts in performance reviews, can increase support for the program.

By creating a culture that supports and promotes internal mobility, companies can not only improve employee satisfaction and retention, but also respond more flexibly to changing market requirements. Effective internal mobility programs are a key element for modern companies to remain innovative and competitive.